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The tragedy at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis hit close to home for me and two of my colleagues. Brad Simpson, chief financial officer, Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association; Robin Quillon, publisher of The Tribune-Democrat in Johnstown; and myself were meeting in a conference room just outside of the newsroom at the same newspaper that would be the topic of breaking news just a couple of hours later.

I remember one victim who walked by me — sunglasses, hat and a grumpy hello, and I said to myself ... ‘Yeah, he is a news guy.’

An old, yellowed newspaper clipping is secured on my refrigerator with a magnet. It reads:

“You may have tangible wealth untold; caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I you can never be — I had a mother who read to me,” from “The Reading Mother” by Strickland Gillilan in “The Read Aloud Handbook”

I put this quote on my refrigerator when I was pregnant with my first child, approximately 25 years ago. I learned if I read to my children before they were born, they would recognize my voice after they were born, and that was true.

Previous winners of the popular pageant are casting their own votes now, after last week’s announcement that the Miss America organization will eliminate its swimsuit and evening gown contests from the 97-year-old event.

Gretchen Carlson, the newly named chairwoman of the Miss America board of directors and herself a winner of the pageant, also announced it was no longer to be considered a pageant, but rather a competition.

All research begins with someone asking the question, “I wonder ...?” That is what my research design instructor told us on the first day of class.

I have a number of things that make me go, “Huh ...!” but at the behest of my family, who had to endure me going through graduate school a few years ago, I decided to spare them and not to embark upon a Ph.D.

Before acting, I ponder this phrase taught to me by my mother years ago. If whatever I am about to say or do does not fit the framework of “something nice,” I simply refrain from putting it out to the world. This second look has stopped me from doing a lot of things I know I would have regretted.

A few weeks ago, I heard a startling statistic that frightened me. During a caregivers class at a local hospital, the facilitator told attendees that 80 percent of caregivers die before their patient does.

Initially, that news sounded unbelievable. Surely, there was some mistake. But the more I thought about that high figure, the more sense it made.

The weekend of May 18-20 was a study in the contrast between love and hate, good vs. evil.

On Friday, hate prevailed as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old student at Santa Fe High School, Santa Fe, Texas, walked into the school’s art complex with a shotgun and a handgun and began shooting at his fellow students.

In the end, 10 people were slaughtered. Another 13 were wounded. Pagourtzis was taken into custody following a shootout with police.